Women can sometimes be foolish, but when they suspect their husbands of cheating, they can delve into details that would make even Sherlock Holmes call them experts.
Last year, Lin Jing actually felt that Xia Guofu was behaving oddly, returning home less and less often. He said it was because business was too busy, and when he didn’t show enthusiasm for work, he could claim it was a mid-life crisis, but how could she explain his secretive behavior, hiding from her to make calls?
It wasn’t until she accidentally found a strand of hair on her husband that didn’t belong to her that Lin Jing decided to dig deeper.
She first went to the business hall to print out Xia Guofu’s call records for the past year. There were only two cell phone numbers that had been dialed more than 100 times throughout the year, one was her own, the other...
After getting the phone numbers, Lin Jing didn’t call in a fury to confront; instead, she called from a public phone booth to confirm that the owner of the number was a woman.
When she came to this conclusion, Lin Jing’s heart shattered, hence the scene heard by Xu Qingfan outside Xia Xiaoxiao’s door where she broke down and started cursing.
Lin Jing still didn’t choose to expose and confront the situation. She thought there might be some misunderstanding. Xia Guofu worked incredibly hard, driving his truck day and night, and she didn’t want to strain their relationship due to her baseless suspicions.
But her investigation into the suspected mistress never stopped. She managed to extract a lot of personal information by pretending to be a salesperson and through the neighborhood committee, learning that the woman was named Liang Siyu, from Xiao Xiang, born in ’79, and 25 years old that year.
A young woman, unrelated by blood— no one makes hundreds of calls a year for no reason. Actually, the investigation at this point was almost conclusive proof, but perhaps for Xia Xiaoxiao’s sake, Lin Jing still hadn’t set off the fuse.
During the New Year, Lin Jing suggested that Xia Guofu give up his job driving trucks and, like Yao Jiping’s family, buy a few shops to safely collect rent. She also mentioned Xiao Xiang, both overtly and covertly.
She felt she had been magnanimous enough, not making a scene like a normal woman might have. Xia Guofu should have ended his affair with dignity.
However, the result she received was that he left abruptly in the middle of paying New Year’s visits in the countryside, even before they had started lunch, because of that woman’s phone call.
This time, Lin Jing truly collapsed. She dragged her exhausted body back to Li City with her daughter, not wanting to discuss the matter with relatives.
Once home, Lin Jing sought out Yao Jiping. After embracing and crying for a while, she began to pour out her heart.
She told everything about her recent investigations and how Xia Guofu was going to that woman’s home again to Yao Jiping.
After all, they were childhood friends who grew up together. Hearing this, Yao Jiping was livid, wishing she could grab a kitchen knife and put an end to Xia Guofu.
Yao Jiping called Xu Aiguo, who had gone fishing somewhere, to come back. The three of them hit the road to Xiao Xiang on the expressway without even managing to pack their bags.
In one day, they drove directly to Changsha. After a brief rest overnight, the next day they began to stake out the residential complex Lin Jing had learned about from the phone calls.
Everything went smoothly. Before ten in the morning, they saw Xia Guofu emerging from the complex, his arm entwined with that of a plainly dressed woman.
Although she was prepared, Lin Jing broke down immediately, her tears unstoppable.
Yao Jiping flung open the car door, intending to go give the scumbag a piece of her mind, but was held back by Lin Jing.
She shook her head while crying, devastated.
Only when Xia Guofu and the woman approached did the three see the baby Xia Guofu was carrying.
In an instant, Lin Jing felt as though the sky had collapsed.
A family of three walking down the street looked perfectly matched, like an actual happy family.
Xu Aiguo drove slowly behind Xia Guofu, watching as the couple with the child entered a health clinic. Only then did Lin Jing break down in sobs.
After waiting outside the hospital for over an hour and watching them return to the complex, the three went back to the hotel they were staying at.
That’s when the phone call with Xia Xiaoxiao from last night happened.
Although she hadn’t finished speaking, when Lin Jing asked that one question, she already had her answer in her heart.
All she wanted now was to ask Xia Guofu why. In what aspects did she fail him? Her education, appearance, knowledge— how did they not measure up to the one he cheated with?
"I’m sorry." In a quiet restaurant private room, facing a disheartened Lin Jing, Xia Guofu said, anxious.
Before Lin Jing could speak, Yao Jiping burst out, "You son of a bitch, Xia Guofu, where’s that mistress? Too ashamed to show up, right? You’ve really outdone yourself, haven’t you? The child must be nearly one year old now, damn it!"
In response to Yao Jiping’s accusations, Xia Guofu didn’t retaliate, looking guiltily at Lin Jing.
"Why?" Lin Jing asked coldly, like a robot devoid of emotion.
Xia Guofu opened his mouth as if to speak. He had thought up many excuses before coming, but facing his wife’s icy glare, he didn’t have the courage to admit it was just a moment of folly. "My mother wanted a son," he said.
"April 18th, 2003," Xia Guofu replied nervously.
"I see," smirked Lin Jing with self-mockery. "Congratulations."
"Jingjing, don’t be ..."
"Shut up, don’t call me Jingjing!" Lin Jing suddenly stood up, screaming hysterically.